The weather has been pleasant and cools these days (in Chennai) and it wasn’t raining either but still, the clouds, continue to seize the
sky, kept low the temperature that lures me to dream of mountains. Though not
exactly, I feel a mild cold in the air to embrace me and my mind cling to the
memories of the same feel. It’s been more than a year I visited mountains or stayed
overnight other than the home esp. this cool weather is impossible to restrain the
thoughts of Smokey Haven or what I call a bird paradise – Thandikudi – nestled
in the lower Palani hills of Kodaikanal. It was a place that wasn’t too cold as
Kodai or hot as plains but comfortable weather to stay all day out exploring
the locality of coffee and pepper plantations and listening to birds in woods.
Glad my uncle built his wood houses there,
so it was always a hassle-free and home-like stay for us and it would be fun if
two more families of my uncles join the stay. I too used to the comfort of the
woodhouse or to say my uncle had built the house easily accessible by the wheelchair
so that I could visit it anytime without difficulty. He knows how I enjoy
staying into nature or travel to hills and the woodhouse was first executed
for personal use before the idea of renting happen. The weather is one pleasing
thing about this place and no matter what the season was, it never drops out of
comfort and the weather in Chennai right away is something that makes the mind think
about. Perhaps due to Aadi (the season with high wind blow, falls between
July-August) is believed to bring a successful year of rain and these cloudy
moments brings hope as the southwest monsoon had smashed this year.
I leave you with some nature and cool images
for the glimpses of the locality from different times of the visit. I love
being there any time of the season and it has something to please or offer with
the arrival of differences in nature like the migration of birds, flowering
environment and wind.
It’s obvious how Pandemic battle down people on earth and our situation in India kept worrisome as we lose nearly thousand
lives every day and fifty thousand plus new cases. While Chennai sustain a slow
and steady pace of pandemic cases, the cases in districts follows the same to
count 5k+ daily, and in this situation the govt. has ordered to open the liquor
shops in Chennai that was closed for last 5 months or from the beginning of
lockdown. The govt. had opened
the liquor shops already in districts other than Chennai and its suburbs in May
but their decision to open in the city caused no surprise rather made feel
regret about their quicker move.
I felt not good actually when the govt.
announced shutting down of liquor shops in the state, due to pandemic, as I
believed it’s not easy for those addicted to alcohol to sustain without
drinking and would cause a perplex leading to violent behaviours. I know some people who find difficult to skip
a day without drinking and lead a life quite dedicated to drink. I thought
about them and it isn’t that I support them but I understand the pattern of
their lives from my perception and wanted them to be alive rather drinking
something more poisoning. But to my surprise, the people’s response was superb
apart from few abnormal cases of drinking sanitizer (due to alcohol content)
and commits suicide because of the unavailability of liquor.
The drinkers in Chennai has already adapted
to the lifestyle of sober in last 5 months of lockdown, and without drinking;
now opening the liquor shops will certainly turn down the newly adopted norms,
people practiced all these days despite many difficulties and emotional fights.
Many a family felt a sigh of relief when the liquor shops were closed as the
men in the family doesn't need to hurt women or extorting money anymore
(although it is temporary) it keeps the suffering away. Tomorrow, the opening
of government liquor shops will break the cells of self-controlled alcoholics,
who truly amazed me though their sustainability in lack of liquor what I
thought of quite impossible.
The nature and environment healed a lot during
these pandemic lockdown periods and the shutting of liquor shops is another gracious
thing happens at this time and I wished it turned out to be permanent. I know
it’s not that possible unless government stops obtaining money from the sale of
liquor, but I think there couldn’t be a better situation that this to regulate
or create a s ober like circumstance that could be good for the country and
home. I know however we cry the govt. isn’t going to tilt the ear. At least until
the pandemic is over or reduced enough the liquor shops can wait rather become a
spreading zone of Covid 19.
Yellow flowers grin,
the barrier in chain fence
couldn’t stop its outgrowth.
Here is a kind of line houses in
Valparai, what is just a piece of what was washed off in the recent landslides
and flash flood in the high mountain ranges of Munnar; killing nearly 50 people
belong to the families of tea labourers. The southwest monsoon is smashing around
the Western Ghats Mountains of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and many a places
are flooded and Munnar, a beautiful hill station in the Idukki district of
Kerala is one of the top producers of tea and many a labours work here are from
the plains of Tamil Nadu.
The landslide turned into a major disaster,
where rescue operations are still underway as people are being dug out of the
mud. The disaster location being close to the Anamudi, the highest peak of
south India and the popular tourist spot (Eravikulam National Park) for Thar
goat sighting, exposed to cold winds and rain to extend the rescue operation. Valparai
is nothing less to Munnar, and these two places are bordered by a valley that
separates the two states. And their living conditions were also similar and the
workers were all settlers from the plains to work in the tea plantations. It’s
the workers of Rajamalai tea estate went to grave before buried really. While
the covid eradicating away the lives in plenty, the plane crash and landslides
were doing their better half. Nature has its own plans and no one can predict
its move and we could only mourn for those died.
The bird is often or to say daily found
around the house esp. after the lockdown they frequent the trees in the neighbourhood.
As they mostly perch on tree tops or go behind the branches I could only listen
to their sounds than shoot with camera. Here is couple of shots on Myna from
the past.
Myna is a commonly visible bird anywhere in
India and perhaps so it is called as common Myna or Indian Myna. The bird found from Middle East to Southeast
Asia is readily identified by the brown body, black hooded head and the bare
yellow patch behind the eye with bright yellow bill and legs.
